July 22, 2018
#263
Gentle reader,
Well, this is it: The final chapter showcasing the crazy ride I've been on. I am have striven to show that acquiring components and speakers is a good thing. In my case, I never collected just to amass a collection. I don't have the room and feel that thing which were made to DO something should be employed as such. While stacks of speakers are impressive, listening to them is more so. I was often trying new things to see/hear if they improved the sound. If they did, I kept them and enjoyed them. The rest went to new homes.
For those readers new to blogger.com, when viewing on a PC or MAC, clicking on any photo will open a window in front of this page. One can stroll through the photos either by clicking or the left/right arrow keys.
Here is a link to the previous chapter:
Forty-Plus-Year Adventures with Vintage Dynaco Stereo Equipment and More! PART FOUR
And here is a link to a list of EVERY article I have written of all-matters related to listening to music. Each article is listed like these links. Oldest at the top and newest at the bottom. Thus, the links are easy to read to help you decide which you will enjoy next.
EVERY Blog Article I Have Ever Written and Illustrated About Stereo Equipment and Speakers Galore!
Have I regretted passing things on to the next guy? Absolutely. In fact, the resurgence of interest in things analog has fueled a price increase on things I had sold for far less money back then. Thus, I can no longer afford what I once owned. Not just stereo equipment, but film cameras and lenses and more. There ought to be a book......
Speaking of analog...I found this image on the web. I have been enjoying reading it. A great read, there is a lot more "analog" things than I would have thought of. This is an excellent book.
No shortage of inputs, it has the ability to record one thing while listening to another. Has a rumble (infrasonic) filter and even bass equalization. The last only for use with speakers with small woofers. On the back are switches for MM or MC cartridges and three choices of capacitance too! Plus a second pair of outputs marked "High Level". Since I could never find a manual, that one's exact purpose remains unknown.
Another significant change occurred. See silver things above? Yep, this photo shows my first attempt to recreate my first stereo from 1976. I wrote all about that. A Dynaco PAT-5 preamp and all the SWTPC Tiger .01 mono power amps that I was finding did not work, I found a stereo version of them in the form of a 35 WPC amp all in the same size and type of chassis the Tiger 60 watt mono amp resides. Above the right speaker is a folding wooden shelf I put a LUXMAN turntable on for the 1976 stereo. Better, by far, than the B.I.C 940 unit I originally had, there was no room for it and the components.
For those readers new to blogger.com, when viewing on a PC or MAC, clicking on any photo will open a window in front of this page. One can stroll through the photos either by clicking or the left/right arrow keys.
Here is a link to the previous chapter:
Forty-Plus-Year Adventures with Vintage Dynaco Stereo Equipment and More! PART FOUR
And here is a link to a list of EVERY article I have written of all-matters related to listening to music. Each article is listed like these links. Oldest at the top and newest at the bottom. Thus, the links are easy to read to help you decide which you will enjoy next.
EVERY Blog Article I Have Ever Written and Illustrated About Stereo Equipment and Speakers Galore!
Have I regretted passing things on to the next guy? Absolutely. In fact, the resurgence of interest in things analog has fueled a price increase on things I had sold for far less money back then. Thus, I can no longer afford what I once owned. Not just stereo equipment, but film cameras and lenses and more. There ought to be a book......
Speaking of analog...I found this image on the web. I have been enjoying reading it. A great read, there is a lot more "analog" things than I would have thought of. This is an excellent book.
Below, is what the room looked like in July, 2017:
The ONLY change from a few days earlier, is a significant one. I finally found a PROTON preamplifier! It is the 1100 model, and I got it for a great price. Below is the front of it:
No shortage of inputs, it has the ability to record one thing while listening to another. Has a rumble (infrasonic) filter and even bass equalization. The last only for use with speakers with small woofers. On the back are switches for MM or MC cartridges and three choices of capacitance too! Plus a second pair of outputs marked "High Level". Since I could never find a manual, that one's exact purpose remains unknown.
Then, these happened: Klipsch KG4 speakers! $9.99!
The came with risers on
them, one of which had some veneer missing. Plus, the glue had failed
on one and the base was no longer attached to the plastic brackets. I
used those loose brackets mounted under the front to tilt the speakers upward and then sought a
better solution. An extensive search led me to these bamboo step stools, seen below. Made for kids, they seemed ideal to get those horn tweeters nearer to ear level when I sat in my chair.
But, I still needed Dynaco speakers. eBay had many A25 models, but they were all more than I wanted to spend. But there was a pair of A25XLs at $99. and no one was bidding on them! I bid and won! Sadly, one of the tweeters separated during transit......
Some rearranging moved the PAT-5 down and the SWTPC up next to the ST-200. The shelf and turntable was moved to the front wall.
A search on line found me one A25XL tweeter in Poland, of all places! It cost me and took a while to get here, but it works and was worth it.
Sonic totem poles.
My Denon turntable was the only external source for the PROTON. The LUXMAN turntable and JVC cassette were sources for the Dynaco, since CDs were far from being invented in 1976.
PROTON had a whopping 22.5 WPC, which was plenty for the Klipsch KG4 speakers, being so efficient. Dynaco speakers were still attached to the Dynaco vintage system. Another whole article covered this HUGE change.
The Dynaco A25XLs serve as the surround channels and face both sides of my chair. This was taken April 2nd, 2018. We're almost done!
Because I'd expanded via the QD-2, all the BLE Design speakers cables were too short. So, I sadly passed them on to others. At this point, I had to move the Monster Cable Z-Series from upper to lower or vice versa with the front speakers.
Also, note the Advent Baby Advent II speakers that I renovated are shown in situ for the first time in the photo above.
The PAT-5 Series II preamp they teased us with was never offered for sale. This beauty was their top-of-the-line and a SCORE at $89.00 from the original owner. I even have the manual and remote! So, that top row is ALL black Dynaco! The sound is SUPERB!
The Baby Advents, which I replaced the cheap crossovers with not-cheap ones from Parts Express and replaced the spring terminals with 3-way binding/banana terminal, as well as their new foam kit have brought those long-throw woofers to life! I never would have thought these Latter-Day-Advent speakers would have been capable of such dynamic music. But they are.
The Babies being less efficient than the A25XLs means I can now hear the surround speakers better. The Klipsch KG4s serve as the "B" speakers. Below is the latest photo of the room, to avoid flash glare, I took the shot from an angle. I was using a camera I don't often try. So the flash was quite bright on the picture above the rifle's stock.I now have two pair of Monster Cable Z-Series speaker cables for the front speakers. The "umbilical cord" cables serve well for the surround speakers.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my humble blog. Keep on listening!
Scott
July 22, 2018
#263
